1. LITERARY CRITICISM: A Necessary Introduction (that you didn’t get yesterday!)

2. Anything that is written? Written texts that have withstood the test of time? Works of the imagination/creative writing? Works with a particular set of qualities (like plot, character, tone, setting, etc.)? Works that emphasize universal themes (like the power of overcoming obstacles)? Works that fit the parameters of literary genres: poem, essay, short story, novel? WHAT IS LITERATURE?

3. “Literature is a highly developed use of language in that it is the stylized manipulation of language for larger effect (purpose) and/or affect (emotional response). It is capable of both aesthetic intention and cultural critique through its representation of the worlds in which we live.” THE IB SAYS…

4. “Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature.” Wow … thanks a lot … now everything is crystal clear … Wikipedia rocks WHAT IS LITERARY CRITICISM?

5. "Literary criticism is the evaluation of literary works. This includes its classification by genre, structure, and judgement of value." - Beckson & Ganz Ok, that's a bit better … WHAT IS LITERARY CRITICISM?

6. “Literary criticism asks what literature is, what it does, and what it is worth." - Encyclopedia Britannica Nice … WHAT IS LITERARY CRITICISM?

7. In my own words… Literary criticism helps readers like you and me interpret the literature we read. Each literary theory provides us with a different way of looking at a given literary work, which can ultimately reveal important aspects about it. WHAT IS LITERARY CRITICISM?  Literary criticism helps us to understand what is important about a literary text. For example: - its structure - its context: social, economic, historical - how the text manipulates the reader Literary criticism helps us to understand the relationship between authors, readers, and literary texts. The act of literary criticism ultimately enhances the enjoyment of our reading of the literary work Like what important aspects?

8. Historical-Biographical Formalist/Rhetorical Linguistic/Structuralism Reader Response Psychoanalytical Historicist (New Historicism) Marxist/Materialist Feminist/Gender Studies Archetypal Postcolonial/Cultural Studies OUR STUDY OF LITERARY CRITICISM WILL INCLUDE…

9. Author intention Post- Structuralism/Deconstruction Biological Cognitive scientific Moralist Queer theory Socio-political Sociological And so many more … BUT THERE ARE SO MANY MORE…

10. 1. The World 2. The Author 3. The Text Other Texts Real World 4. The Reader Beyond the World Text = Objective reality Historical- Biographical: The text, the author, and the world. Formalism: the TEXT (as art) Structuralism: the TEXT (as language system) Psychoanalytic: The Text, the author, and the reader. Reader Response: READER/TEXT/community of readers w/shared values THE 4 CRITICAL VARIABLES of LITERARY THEORY & CRITICISM Text = Ideologically constructed language ITS CONTEXT Text = Symbol, Archetype Feminist/Gender Studies: The Text, the World, the author, and the reader. Postcolonial: The Text, the author, the world, and the reader Marxist: The Text, the world & the Real world Archetypal: The text & the author. New Historicism: The Text, the author, & the reader.

11. YOUR PRESENTATION: The theory’s key ideas The historical context of the theory The theory’s key contributors An analysis of a central text A single page handout (double- sided) for your classmates summarizing the above.

12. RESOURCES: In addition to the resources I will provide to you today in class, also check out: OWL Purdue University Writing Lab: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/01/ Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Literary Theory http://www.iep.utm.edu/literary/ An Intro to Modern Literary Theory: Dr. Kristi Siegel (Mount Mary College) http://www.kristisiegel.com/theory.htm Rutgers Lit. Theory Database: http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit/theory.html